Cell- or battery-powered electrical systems for diffusing volatile substances are known. Electric diffusers are devices for diffusing volatile substances in a closed or outdoor environment by means using electric power, which is used to activate heating elements, diffuser elements or dispensing elements, for the purpose of achieving optimal efficiency, optimal control over the metered amount and optimal control by the user over the dispensing level setting.
Devices of this type are particularly designed for being used without requiring the cooperation of an external air stream, and even without specific temperature restrictions, obtaining good evaporation and/or diffusion of the volatile substances. This obviously does not cancel out the fact that the device is placed in a location where the volatile substance will come into contact with an air flow once it has been released. This will help to diffuse it better in a room, for example, although it does not affect the operation of the apparatus, as described below.
Some of these devices incorporate motors, heaters or electrovalves that allow the vapors to exit through diffuser or dispenser systems, such as nozzles or wicks. These devices comprise a container holding the volatile substance, the electrical system allowing diffusion and the batteries or cells powering the system.
In some cases, the volatile substance is located inside a container in liquid form, and the electrical system is used to dispense metered amounts by means of heating to evaporation, by means of spraying, nebulizing, atomizing or other forms.
In other cases, this container is normally located in a pressurized metal housing acting as protection and support, and including the gas that propels the volatile substance to be diffused. In these cases, diffusion is done automatically by the shut-off valve of the pressurized housing being released at the desired time. This automatic diffusion can be done by means of activating a button, by means of a timer or also by means of an environmental condition sensor (light, movement, bad odors, etc.).
These devices, however, have a series of drawbacks. On one hand, most of them are devices in which the cells have a low service life, which makes it necessary to change the cells often, with the subsequent economic drawback for the user who must change the batteries after replacing the container for the volatile substance a certain number of times.
On the other hand, earlier solutions have an efficiency that is limited by the electrical diffusion system, which does not suitably use the energy from the batteries, wasting a part of it, which ultimately means that many more cells than those strictly required are used, generating waste and an unwanted environmental impact.
It is also the case that some of the preceding solutions not only fail to optimize consumption, but furthermore dispense inconsistent amounts of volatile substance as they do not take into consideration the conditions of the area surrounding the diffusion system.
In many existing solutions, the reason for the energy inefficiency relates directly to the application and/or use of constant time pulses when the diffusion systems are activated and to the fact that the response obtained from cells relates to the charge level of the cells. A very obvious example is the activation of aerosol technology-based diffusion systems, in which the valve of the container holding the substance to be diffused must be pressed with a motor. In these cases, the duration of the pulses is predefined ex factory and constant, so it is calculated for the worst-case conditions of the area surrounding the system (for example, when the voltage level of the batteries is very low, and a long activation time of the motor moving the connecting rod or cam pressing the valve of the container is therefore required). In these cases, when the conditions of the surrounding area are optimal, more than 60% of the energy used for metering can be wasted.
Therefore, the present invention seeks to solve the issues existing in earlier devices, providing a device and a method improving the yield and efficiency, dispensing the desired product amount and reducing consumption of the batteries as much as possible, with the subsequent positive impact on the economic expense and on the environmental impact.